Renting In Sydney - Ouch

[Rangerbob]

Hi There

After arriving yesterday and the usual euphoria around the fact that you have just moved your whole life successfully to another Continent (not even just a country as this place is sooooo big it is a country AND a continent!!), we hit the ground running today to try and do the super human - rent a house AND buy a car.

Now, I had done my homework on the internet for the last few weeks before leaving SA and had shortlisted 8 houses and had flowed them week after week and added and removed as as when the list changed. I got to know every damn house in St Ives, Pymble, Wahroonga, Turramurra and Gordon as we had identified these as the areas we wished to live in during a recent LSD trip.

Our first love was Wahroonga but this we were advised was a little far off the beaten track to get our daughter to school in Terry Hills and my wife to work easily in North shore. Ahhhh pooie - we liked the area and Would be fine…….uh huh !! Firstly there is very little rental accommodation in Wahroonga for under $1500 per WEEK !! and our budget was between $750 and push to max $1200 per week. Okay, so we should find one of the shortlisted ones as suitable so off we went to find our home.

All we found were homes that were Really Really Really well photographed for the websites but when you got to them they were dives and dumps - ARGHHHH. BEWARE of what you are looking at on the websites - the homes are no where near as large as they appear and the gardens are no where near the size they appear to be (if Any garden at all).

What has been the learning…….. Always take a drive past the house before inspection times - you will soon see what you are in for.

Always phone the agent beforehand and ask to see home outside inspection times - ask nicely and give a good reason - most of them are really nice and will try and accommodate. Some (Wahroonga LJ Hooker rental lady is a shocker - yuck, yuck, yuck ) are a bit iffy.

Make sure you put together a Application pack - I did some research beforehand and put together the following;

[Rangerbob]

Oops - pushed send and not tab

Letter of introduction with family photo - all smiling and not looking like ax murderers

Letter from guy we stayed at for two months saying we were favorable tenants

Estate agents marketing pamphlet from our house sale showing where we lived before

Employment letter

Copies of all Passports

Copies of all visa's

Letter from owner of house we are renting in Sydney through AirBnb - proof of current accommodation

Rest of learning …….. If you want to stay in those areas and are a person who loves the entertain and will spend a lot of time in your home and garden then please please please try and budget as much as you can - the houses that were $900 and below soon showed why they were this price.

Always try and get a home that has had the owner in it until you rent it - the ones that have been rented time and time again are almost always in a bad condition.

You get what you pay for - you Will get the exception but you need a lot of time to look for that and storage of containers and rental of Airbnb places are wasted money.

Be ready for landlords who sit in the driving seat and will not budge on conditions of lease - they have many applications and you need to be ready to accept their conditions to even get your considered.

The Happy Ending ------- Yup - there is One !!! I wouldn't let you think that all is lost :-)

We FOUND our home. It was a home we walked into this afternoon that we found whilst having fish and chips in the St Ives Shopping Centre (St Ives is called St Africa for VERY good reason - hehehe - lots of SOUF AFRIKAN accents there) and after we pushed our weekly rental amount up to $1500. It is on the foundry of Pymble and St Ives and when we walked in we went WOW !! It has some minor set backs but all in all it is Stunning and we are excited to move in next Saturday - agent says application should be accepted. Will it hurt - YES but we will adjust and at least we will love every evening we get home and will love having our new friends around on weekends.

Stick to it, Be flexible and HAVE Faith that all will be well.

This place is amazing and the people are super helpful and Super friendly and it is worth every ounce of energy you put into getting here. Just be aware that certain stressors WILL still be here when you arrive and homes are definitely WAY more expensive than SA.

Good Luck and I hope this will be read in a positive light and not a negative light - disappointments are necessary to make the successes even sweeter.

Cheers from a chilly windy Sydney

Jonno

[shannonc4]

Wow! That is some budget you have going there. I work in real estate and it's been one heck of a learning curve. We still haven't found a rental yet and are being really picky

[Pell]

Sheesh Jonno - you are scaring the living daylights out of me.... those are the precise areas I've also identified for potential rentals as my daughter will be at school in Hornsby and want to be close to her school rather than work....

I too am trawling realestate.com.au and domain.com.au, wondering what those well photographed homes really look like.....

Thanks for the heads up....

[Crossedover]

Ouch alright! That is scary to hear.... We have been considering Perth all along but recently we are looking into Sydney and that is just a heck of a lot of money for rent alone... We have lots of adjusting to do I guess . But enjoy your new home.... A lovely home should help with the adjustment.

[JacquesV]

Welcome to my neck of the woods RangerBob!

Guys don't let the rental market stress you out. It's not nearly as hard as the general perception created to secure decent accommodation. The only thing you need to be aware of, as highlighted by Jonno (RangerBob), is that Aussie estate agencies are MASTERS at photoshopping the hell out residential properties!! Don't trust the photos for one minute! There are exceptions however.

If you like the St Ives / Pymble / Turramurra areas consider looking out Frenches Forest / Belrose / Davidson way as well. Some really nice places there.

[Kanniewagnie]

There is no way we'll be able to pay that amount for rental without securing a job first. Any one willing to rent out their couch for a month or three?

[Bronwyn&Co]

I don't know if this helps but my brother is in Mona Vale. They really love it and the primary school is excellent. They are renting a 3 bed place for less than $1000. I think around $900? Their place is apparently like an apartment but it must be big because they have a little garden & even place for a boat. And with two children. I haven't seen it yet myself but they're happy.

[Mara]

Wow, am I happy to live in Sunbury now..... rents here are around $450 for a 3-bedroomed place..... just a pity for everyone that it is on the fringe of Melbourne and not Sydney!

[Bronwyn&Co]

Ditto for Adelaide & Brisbane, Mara. I can't imagine being happy to pay that sort of rent. We had a huge place in Adl for $650pw with a tennis court and pool. Ok it was a bit weird and old but nice, walking distance to school and 6kms from the city.

[Nev]

Wow Sydney is crazy expensive, we are in a pretty nice area in Melbourne in a 3 bedroom house 400m from a train line 30 min from town and pay $1700 per month..... that's almost your weekly rate

I agree on the well photographed bit, we have to view a few duds before finding this place

[shannonc4]

I don't mean to be rude, but why on earth are you paying so much? Yes Sydney is expensive but over $1000 for rent is ridiculous. You can get a lovely 3-4 bedroom house on a bigish stand in Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge, The Ponds, Hornsby or Pymble for around $550 to $600.

I think spending over $600 is ludicrous.

[rozellem]

Wow, you have a healthy budget! Gulp! We bought in Belrose a year ago, renting in Frenchs Forest before for $720 I believe. Where is she going to school in Terrey Hills? Will PM you with some details.

[Heymanse]

Sydney is expensive but there are more affordable areas to live in. We've lived in The Hills District since 2008 and in 4 different properties. Highest we've had to pay is $650 p.w. Current house in Castle Hill is $610 p.w. - 3 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms, formal lounge and dining, double garage and a granny flat. I consider our public transport from the Hills as some of the best and we have the Norwest Rail Link to look forward to in 2019.

[Bob]

Wow . . . . . $1 500 a week in rent is some . . . rent.

I think most Australians in the workforce that I get to meet and know are avoiding Sydney nowadays, because it is just so highly priced for what you get.

Most Australians I have met in their 30s and 40s only go to Sydney as a career move, spend a short while there, then get the hell out once their contract term (2 or 3 years) is up.

They go back to a country town or other capital city in Australia that is a whole lot cheaper to live in and start having some sort of a life once more.

[Donovan83]

Good grief, Sydney is just impossibly expensive. For $1500 a week you could buy a really nice house in Perth or Melbourne and still have lots of change.

Sydney is a nice city though

Oh hey you can find cheaper rentals. But the toilet is in the kitchen.

http://www.realestate.com.au/blog/yes-toilet-kitchen/

Edited August 7, 2014 by Donovan83

[Sibella]

Noooo! And remember if the rentals are that high one probably won't ever be able to afford to buy there.

Here in Melbourne we paid $630 a week for a stunning four bed plus study plus a pool, paying slightly more than that now for our mortgage, no pool but also 4 beds plus study.

Give me Melbourne any time.

Also regarding not renting typical rental properties, both properties we rented so far were the owners own home (one went overseas) and although the houses are much nicer the chances that you'll stay long term in this type of rental is slim.

We had to move from the first property after two years as the owners were living overseas and decided to sell while the second owner wanted to move into his property (he bought it and immediately rented it out - we figured they hadn't sold their own house yet).

So yes you might get a nice house but can only count on 12 months.

[AFreshStart]

If it's any consolation, we've been waiting Domain and Real Estate daily for months, and many of those rental are just not moving! New properties, at least in the inner city areas of Redfern/Surry Hills are rarely going up. We've seen places drop from $3400 to $2500 weekly (granted 7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms etc), and smaller cheaper places in the $700-$900 range are not moving, despite being on the listing for a month.

Who knows what's going to happen. But like Bob shares, I don't think in city is where we will be forever, a few years, then eventually will end up outside of a major city, rural and retire where we can afford to buy as a 'fixer upper' 2-3 bedroom for $1.2 million is just insane...

I have a friend who lives in the area, and due to several reasons has bounced around the suburb 3-4 times in 2 years, a family of 4, no fun in that!

Cheers

Matt

Edited August 8, 2014 by AFreshStart

[rozellem]

Been in Sydney almost 6 years and NEVER, ever heard of someone paying $1500 for a rental. I would love to see pics of the place. Hope it really is a palace and you weren't taken advantage of, since you are freshly off the boat. The price would send me hyper ventilating......

[shannonc4]

You looking at a massive place for $1500 and honestly you probably don't need it. Sydney is not that expensive. I have just signed a lease for a 4 bed, 3 bath and double garage house in Quakers Hill with dishwasher, tumble dryer, granite kitchen counters, pergola and much more for only $550. There are better options out there

[Bronwyn&Co]

Come back Rangerbob! We want to know how things are going.

Poor guy is never going to tell anyone anything about money again...

Rangerbob said he did a lot of reasearch, so hopefully he wasn't taken advantage of & can simply afford a great place.

I hope things are going well.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[rozellem]

Sorry if I came over too strong, RangerBob. Its just that despite being used to the Aussie dollar and acclimatised to Sydney prices, that number still makes me flinch. Hope you are settling in well.

[Donovan83]

You looking at a massive place for $1500 and honestly you probably don't need it. Sydney is not that expensive. I have just signed a lease for a 4 bed, 3 bath and double garage house in Quakers Hill with dishwasher, tumble dryer, granite kitchen counters, pergola and much more for only $550. There are better options out there

Looks like a nice area but that's really far out of the city...

[shannonc4]

Looks like a nice area but that's really far out of the city...

My husband works in North Sydney, Miller street right near the North Sydney station. It takes him an hour from Quakers. We have been told by many Aussies that if you can get your travel time to under an hour, you are very lucky. If you insist on living in or right near the city then you are going to have to pay up, it's the same in every country.

[Fish]

My husband works in North Sydney, Miller street right near the North Sydney station. It takes him an hour from Quakers. We have been told by many Aussies that if you can get your travel time to under an hour, you are very lucky. If you insist on living in or right near the city then you are going to have to pay up, it's the same in every country.

That's a Sydney Aussie saying only btw

Edited August 10, 2014 by Fish